A 65-year-old ex-self-employed worker who has done maintenance work, heart on hand all his life, is retiring on a tight budget, which does not prevent him from enjoying life in his own way.
“I am coming to retirement really not rich, but I have an advantage, I am someone who is not materialistic. I don’t owe anyone a penny. My business is paid. I’m an outdoor guy,” says Michel Corriveau.
“I have extraordinary accommodation that costs me next to nothing,” he says.
His eyes water when he talks about his good landlord friend who asks him to pay a fraction of his rent to give him some air.
“I have a very small pension, but I have accommodation that costs me practically nothing. I cook a lot. I am an excellent cook. I watch the specials, ”he says.
For Michel Corriveau, happiness is simple: snowshoeing and hiking. His thing: not to embark on the race for trinkets.
“I am not in the madness that overwhelms everyone at the moment: to have, to have, to have”, continues the one who has found happiness in his walks in the forest.
“I have zero debt. This is what makes me consider myself rich,” he insists.
Self-employed
Like more than 565,000 Quebecers, Michel Corriveau was self-employed, which did not allow him to raise enough money for later.
When asked why he didn’t set aside what was needed on his own for later, he replies that it’s not nearly that simple.
“When you run your own business and the employer puts nothing away, do you know how much to put aside? It makes a big difference,” he says.
According to him, it will urgently be necessary to reduce the tax burden on retirees.
“Why not help the elders who built the nation while helping companies in need of manpower?” he wonders aloud.
- In a brief tabled in the House of Commons, Autonomous Workers Quebec (TAQ) points out that the fact of not recognizing the status of the self-employed worker leads to “discrimination”.
– With the collaboration of Hélène Schaff